Around the time of the 1994 World Cup (that would be soccer) I had this neighbor, Duncan. Duncan decided it would be cool to carry around the soccer ref cards and if anyone said something stupid he would show them the yellow card or the red card to indicate the severity or their verbal transgression. That was amusing…for about a day.

Anyhow, the band Yellowcard will be headlining the post-race concert at the Grand Prix of St Petersburg this year, which should be a rocking good time for all. We’ll see if this School of Rock theme carries on throughout the whole season, but thusfar all announced musical acts for Festivals of Indy Racing have had a decided rock edge to them.

For example, before the race in St. Pete the XM FreakySpeedFest (or whatever it’s called) in Miami kicks off the 2007 season with a performance by another group who actually has a few hit records this decade - that would be Australian band JET. The band of course is named after John Travolta’s son. OK, I made that up.

Also, this year the musical performance at Indy’s Carb Day will be provided by none other than the Artist Formerly Known As Mr. Pamela Anderson the Second. Also known as Robert James Ritchie. Or more commonly referred to as Kid Rock. This after someone once said of him “that kid can rock!” That I did not make that up.

I don’t know what "Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy" means, but I’m sure it will go over well with the Snake Pit crowd.

This verbal sniping can only go on so long before it becomes tedious – and we may have already reached that point. But newspapers have to be sold, so here are some quotes from the Arizona Republic that show the tender feelings between fellow Phoenicians Buddy Rice and Danica Patrick.

So Buddy, how would you compare your former teammate to your new one - Sarah Fisher?

"They’re completely opposite. I haven't known Sarah for very long, so it's hard to make a complete judgment, but so far from what I've seen . . . Sarah comes out there to be a racer and to drive. From that standpoint, I can see that she is one of those people willing to learn."

And Danica, what about your new AGR teammates?

"You have more of a friendship than I've experienced before," she said. "Of course, not only are they fantastic drivers, but they're also friends, so that's something new for me."

Ah, if only Patrick and Rice could have spent a few more precious moments together at Waffle House last season. Then Bobby Rahal would have kept his team together, saved his sponsorships, grown a full head of hair and cured cancer. Or not.

This news is a bit like hearing Vin Scully is going to be broadcasting games in your hometown, but then you find out he's calling little league contests.

ESPN has decided to bring back the unflappable Bob Jenkins for the 2007 season, but he's going to be calling the Indy Pro series races on ESPN2. This is still good news because some Bob Jenkins is better than no Bob Jenkins, and should anything happen to Marty Reid (who did a fine job last season except for the overuse of the word "lockstep") it’s good to know Mr. Jenkins is readily available.

There are others who would prefer to have former Indy 500 announcer Paul Page back screaming like the room is on fire calling races, but it would seem ESPN would rather keep him on Drag Racing and Street Luge. Which just goes to show how much weight “Indianapolis 500 Broadcaster” carries on a resume these days.

I believe it was Snoop Doggy Dog who said “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy”, and I’m sure Brian Barnhart would agree. Take a quick look at the checklist for the President of the Indy Racing League (in no particular order):

• Figure out what to do with Michigan International Speedway
• Find another Ethanol-powered engine manufacturer before 2009
• Make sure Marco Andretti or Danica Patrick win 500 (deny deny deny)
• Get ideas for new chassis (gosh, those DP01s look slick)
• Add more races (Southern California? Mississippi? Portugal?)
• Get series sponsor ship (keep forgetting)
• Get championship sponsorship (keep forgetting that too)
• Get more hotties in the series (Milka what’s her name?)

The list goes on and on, and this doesn’t even include all the logistics that go into actually putting on fine racing for most weekends of the spring and summer. So it comes as no surprise that Trackside Online and SPEED have both said the league is looking for a replacement at the COO position so The Long Arm of the Law can focus on racing and competition related tasks.

"I always said I have no expertise in sales or marketing," admitted Barnhart.

Sadly this has shown, although Barnhart has certainly been giving his all to the series. Despite having a racing product that doesn’t bore viewers to tears, there always seems to be a shortage of public awareness of both the races and the drivers. Certain prospects for the COO position are mentioned in each article, but let’s hope whoever gets named can come in and properly pimp the league before the current roster of superstars retire or switch leagues.

Remember why they call him Spiderman. Man, I gotta get out to Richmond someday and help fill up those seats.

For those of you who follow the Craftsman Truck series (what, don't all IndyCar fans?) you probably noticed that Larry Foyt finished 32nd at Daytona earlier this year. Yes, that Larry Foyt. The one who is supposed to be "team director" of AJ Foyt Enterprises, which includes the IRL entry featuring Darren Manning.

According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, this was not a one-shot deal. Larry is looking for even more truck rides in 2007, or even Busch series rides.

"If it works out, great. We could do it here, Kansas and Vegas. We’ve even talked to a Busch team about Daytona (in July). My racing career isn’t dead, but my priority is the IndyCar Series right now."

I guess this answers the question of whether or not big AJ would be stepping aside and handing over daily control of the team. The nays have it.

As a rule, I avoid posting items regarding the significant others of drivers, owners, and other personalities of the Indy Racing League. This is a fan site, not the society page or a gossip column.

But for your entertainment I’m going to break that rule with this recent footage of Stephanie Soviar, who happens to be the main squeeze of Mr. Jeff Simmons. While Sarah Fisher and her fiancée recently teamed up to win a go-kart race, it would seem the duo of Simmons and Soviar would be a lot less likely undertake such an endeavor. For obvious reasons.

Look what I have to deal with since the IRL left the Valley of the Sun.

It’s bad enough the CCWS plans it’s course downtown next to a Maricopa County dispatch center. And it’s bad enough they had to send out cars for noise testing because America’s Toughest Sheriff threatened to stop the race if it got too loud. But they had to do the testing on a Tuesday, causing traffic issues all over the place.

Way to tick off the locals, Parade series.

Here is some less-than-exciting footage, which includes a minivan rolling between two Champ Cars. Boy if that isn’t a priceless image then I don’t know what is.

At any rate, the Arizona Republic reports they passed the noise test and are full steam ahead to race here on December 2nd, assuming they get some sponsors and teams together in time.

"We couldn't hear any of the noise," Sherrif Joe Arpaio said after the tests. "However, when you have 20 cars racing out there, it might be a little different."

Twenty cars for a Champ Car race? Yeah, right.

It occurred nearly four months ago, but over the weekend this blog had the first mention of the December 10th arrest of Anthony J Foyt IV on suspicion of DWI. Remember Quattro is innocent until proven guilty, although anyone can see from the mug shot he can be convicted of having the same angry stare as his grandfather.

I’m no journalist, but if a guy who drives over 200 MPH for a living gets busted for driving while impaired then I would think it’s pretty newsworthy. But where were the reports? We had coverage within ten seconds of Little Al’s latest (alleged) transgression, but Quattro’s arrest gets nary a line in any publication.

I’m not saying there was a concerted effort of non-coverage by IRL beat reporters because he is AJ Foyt’s grandson and one of Tony George’s current employees, but this omission looks…well, I’ll leave that to you.

The Mecklenburg County (North Carolina) report is here.


UPDATE: He may be late to the party, but Curt Cavin has followed up on this for the Indy Star.

A.J. Foyt IV will keep his Indy-car ride with Vision Racing while a charge of driving under the influence is being settled, his employer said.

"Based on what I know at this time, his status as a driver of the team is not affected pending disposition of the matter," Vision co-owner Tony George said in an e-mail to The Star.

Foyt, 22, was charged Dec. 10 in Mecklenburg County, N.C. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 9.

He’s playing with pain.

"I broke a rib in a karting crash," Simmons said. "I didn't know it was broken, as it was thought to be tissue damage only. During the Daytona test, it started to hurt more and after having a MRI, I found out it really was broken. With the vibrations you get in the car and pressure you put on it, it is something I may have to deal with all year."

Ouch! Nothing like pulling a few extra G’s against the broken rib every weekend. Lucky for Simmons he has a teammate with an unlimited supply of Patron tequila.

Still, after the last 12 months would anyone be surprised to find Bobby Rahal at a local Karaoke warbling “What have I done to deserve this?”